Lawrence Burst Sperry

	Lawrence Burst Sperry Pioneer Aviator - Inventor Aero Engineer
	Born in Chicago, Illinois, 21 December 1892. Produced and flew a glider of his own design at age 17. Earned his pilot's license at the Curtiss Schools at Hammondsport, N.Y. and San Diego, Calif. First civilian comissioned in the U S Navy Flying Corps in 1917. As a Naval aviator, he pioneered some of the earliest flights from the first carrier, USS Langley. The mechanical genius and high curiosity produced a great stream of inventions, the most notable of which was the gyroscopic stablized Automatic Pilot for aeroplanes. He demonstrated this himself at the international competition named the Concours de la Securite en Aeroplane at Bezons in France on 18 June 1914 and won the prize and worldwide recognition. He was 21. Other inventions included the turn indicator, the bank indicator, retractable landing gear, the optical drift sight and the aerial torpedo -- the forerunner of the guided missile of the future. His inventions have been indispensable to both military and civil aviation in this century, namely his gyroscopic and stabilization to flight instrumentation and controls; controls for spacecraft and gyro instruments for all weather flight. Lost at sea 13 December 1923 flying from England to Holland.
	Elected to the International Aerospace Hall of Fame 1979